State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate change104

  • Public Health and Climate Change in the Gulf Region

    Public Health and Climate Change in the Gulf Region

    The U.S. Gulf Coast has already felt the lasting effects of extreme weather on public health and infrastructure, and a new study says things could get worse with climate change.

  • Warming Climate Is Deepening California Drought

    Scientists Say Increasing Heat Drives Moisture from Ground

  • Learning from a River’s History to Prepare for the Future

    Learning from a River’s History to Prepare for the Future

    Researchers from eight universities, including Columbia University, are using tree ring and glacier analysis to reconstruct the climate history of the Missouri River Basin in order to give policymakers and water managers better decision-making tools to manage the river.

  • Hillary Clinton Is Right on Climate Change and the New York Times Is Wrong

    I would argue that given human behavior and organizational inertia it is better to subsidize something new than tax something old. A subsidy, like a sale, sometimes stimulates changed behavior. But a tax may or may not influence behavior.

  • What the World Thinks of Climate Change

    What the World Thinks of Climate Change

    We all know that climate change can generate great debate in the United States. But what about the rest of the world?

  • A Dire Warning on Rapid Climate Change

    A Dire Warning on Rapid Climate Change

    Sea level rise from melting ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland threatens catastrophe for coastal cities within decades unless strong measures are taken to reduce CO2 emissions from the use of fossil fuels, argues climate scientist James Hansen.

  • Spontaneous Clumping of Tropical Clouds

    Spontaneous Clumping of Tropical Clouds

    If you take a look at nearly any satellite image of clouds in the tropics, you’ll notice that the clouds tend to be organized into clusters. One specific type of cloud organization called “self-aggregation.” Self-aggregation is the tendency of tropical clouds to spontaneously clump together, solely due to interactions between the clouds and the surrounding…

  • How Genomics Can Help Famine-Prone Nations Weather Climate Change

    How Genomics Can Help Famine-Prone Nations Weather Climate Change

    A team of biologists and agronomists has identified genomic signatures in plants indicating they are resilient to stresses such as drought or toxic soils. The multi-year study, expected to help developing-world farmers, was done with sorghum, one of the world’s most common crops.

  • An Algorithm to Investigate Unwelcome Plankton

    An Algorithm to Investigate Unwelcome Plankton

    Computer scientists at Columbia University will work with oceanographers to understand what has caused an unusual plankton-like species to rapidly invade the Arabian Sea food chain, threatening fisheries that sustain more than 100 million people.

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings

  • Public Health and Climate Change in the Gulf Region

    Public Health and Climate Change in the Gulf Region

    The U.S. Gulf Coast has already felt the lasting effects of extreme weather on public health and infrastructure, and a new study says things could get worse with climate change.

  • Warming Climate Is Deepening California Drought

    Scientists Say Increasing Heat Drives Moisture from Ground

  • Learning from a River’s History to Prepare for the Future

    Learning from a River’s History to Prepare for the Future

    Researchers from eight universities, including Columbia University, are using tree ring and glacier analysis to reconstruct the climate history of the Missouri River Basin in order to give policymakers and water managers better decision-making tools to manage the river.

  • Hillary Clinton Is Right on Climate Change and the New York Times Is Wrong

    I would argue that given human behavior and organizational inertia it is better to subsidize something new than tax something old. A subsidy, like a sale, sometimes stimulates changed behavior. But a tax may or may not influence behavior.

  • What the World Thinks of Climate Change

    What the World Thinks of Climate Change

    We all know that climate change can generate great debate in the United States. But what about the rest of the world?

  • A Dire Warning on Rapid Climate Change

    A Dire Warning on Rapid Climate Change

    Sea level rise from melting ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland threatens catastrophe for coastal cities within decades unless strong measures are taken to reduce CO2 emissions from the use of fossil fuels, argues climate scientist James Hansen.

  • Spontaneous Clumping of Tropical Clouds

    Spontaneous Clumping of Tropical Clouds

    If you take a look at nearly any satellite image of clouds in the tropics, you’ll notice that the clouds tend to be organized into clusters. One specific type of cloud organization called “self-aggregation.” Self-aggregation is the tendency of tropical clouds to spontaneously clump together, solely due to interactions between the clouds and the surrounding…

  • How Genomics Can Help Famine-Prone Nations Weather Climate Change

    How Genomics Can Help Famine-Prone Nations Weather Climate Change

    A team of biologists and agronomists has identified genomic signatures in plants indicating they are resilient to stresses such as drought or toxic soils. The multi-year study, expected to help developing-world farmers, was done with sorghum, one of the world’s most common crops.

  • An Algorithm to Investigate Unwelcome Plankton

    An Algorithm to Investigate Unwelcome Plankton

    Computer scientists at Columbia University will work with oceanographers to understand what has caused an unusual plankton-like species to rapidly invade the Arabian Sea food chain, threatening fisheries that sustain more than 100 million people.